Cooking

 More and more people have been coming up to me and asking, “Can you give us some recipes for desserts using much less sugar and ones with fresh whole fruits instead?” 

I must admit sugarless or at least less-sugar desserts would be a lot healthier for us, but would they taste just as rich and satisfying as the “real” thing?

Sugar-free desserts, as the name would imply, are meant for people with diabetes (high blood sugar) or for those looking to lose weight, since an excess amount of sugar is believed to enhance weight. 

Whether your taste runs to Italian sausages or bratwurst or even fresh Polish sausage, you can use the same method in successfully preparing all these types of sausage on the grill.

How do you cook fresh Polish sausage? Should you boil it first before putting it on the grill? Wouldn’t the boiling take a lot of the flavor out? A friend of mine said he always burns the sausages on his barbecue, so he wondered if maybe he should wrap them in foil and then grill them.

The hot, lazy days of summer arrived in our area a few weeks ahead of schedule this year, so it’s time to find some quick and easy cool foods to prepare.
In our area, Indigo Farms Produce, Holden Bros. Farm Market and, of course, our Farmers Market in Shallotte have an abundance of lettuces, squash, berries, corn, cucumbers, peppers, peas, fruits, melons and tomatoes.
Take home everything that looks good. Don’t worry about how you’re going to use it all—you only need a salad bowl and an appetite.

 Olive oil has long been one of the most popular and healthy cooking oils in the world. This Mediterranean wonder has long been a top selling oil in America and throughout the rest of the world.

Whether it’s used in cooking with sauces or used in dressings or just drizzled over fresh vegetables or pasta, extra-virgin olive oil, the highest quality of oil, has an acidity of less than one percent, according to the International Olive Oil Council.